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Tuesday, April 10, 2012
London Olympics countdown... Let's do a giveaway!
So you can imagine how spastically excited I got when Robert Kaufman picked up my Next Stop London line and when I learned that it would be releasing amid all of the summer Olympics excitement?! Beyond excited about this line. In fact, I'm thinking a little skirt for myself with red double decker buses may be in order to kick off summer. Now just to find the time to get back to my sewing machine!! :)
How would you like some Next Stop London fabric for your own kick-off to-summer sewing? I'm giving away two half yard sets to two lucky winners.
Just leave your comment here on this post and I'll draw a winner this *lucky* Friday 4/13. I'd love to hear what your favorite summer Olympic sport is or have you share a favorite Olympics moment/memory. Let the Olympics and London love commence. :)
200 comments:
- Unknown said...
LOVE your London fabrics!!! Love London too- spent a year in England in college and tons of time in London!
My fave summer Olympics sport is gymnastics. But my fave memory is Michael Phelps winning his record medals. I was pregnant with our first son and remember laying on the bed, all huge, watching Michael Phelps, thinking how he was somebody's baby too...
- April 10, 2012 at 2:01 PM
- Melissa Miller said...
Love this fabric! Looking forward to the summer Olympics.
- April 10, 2012 at 2:06 PM
- Johanna said...
I love watching the Olympics, it is very imspiring.
- April 10, 2012 at 2:09 PM
- Little Island Quilting said...
Oooh...I have no Olympic story to tell, just an unashamed love of your fabrics instead!
Oh...and did you see this?!
- April 10, 2012 at 2:13 PM
- Elizabeth said...
My fave summer Olympic sport is always gymnastics because I used to be a gymnast. My fave Olympic memory is related. In 1996 my mom and I took a "girls only" vacation to the Mall of America during the games. We would stay up late in our hotel room to watch the coverage but on the last night of the women's all-around I fell asleep early and missed Kerri Strugg's epic vault with a broken leg - which also clinched the gold! I had to watch it the next day at a sports store in the mall! I've never let my mom forget that she should have woken me up for such an event!
- April 10, 2012 at 2:20 PM
- B Greene said...
I love the Summer Olympics almost as much as I love this fabric line!!! My favorite event is gymnastics. I was a young-un back in 1976 when Nadia Comaneci received the first perfect 10. I kept a HUGE scrapbook of all the newspaper clippings of that olympics, but she was the highlight. Thanks for the chance to win!
- April 10, 2012 at 2:24 PM
- Jennifer said...
Love, LOVE your new line!
I'm an olympics junkie. Winter... summer... any event... any time. I have insomnia so I always look forward to watching the events "live" in the middle of our nights.
My favorite event is probably swimming. It's fascinating how they just keep getting faster and faster. I'm sad that softball is no longer an olympic sport though; there were some great moments in those games!
Congrats on another beautiful line!
Jennifer :)
- April 10, 2012 at 2:24 PM
- Megan said...
by far my favorite summer olympics sport is swimming. i started swimming commetitively in 5th grade and did so all the way through college. it's so impressive to see how fast these swimmers can go. impressive and inspiring.
a favorite memory i have is from when i was probably about 8 years old. a family friend of my aunt's was in the swimming events. he didn't make it to the medal rounds but i remember everyone excited about him being there and staying up super late to catch his swim on tv.
- April 10, 2012 at 2:29 PM
- Amy Friend said...
Oh, I like gymnastics, ice skating and swimming (not all summer, I know). Love your buses!
- April 10, 2012 at 2:31 PM
- Allison C said...
I like watching gymnastics, swimming, and diving.
- April 10, 2012 at 2:32 PM
- Laura said...
I love watching the gymnastics portion of the summer Olympics, but swimming and rowing are a close 2nd and 3rd. All of the events are really great, and I can't wait to watch this summer!
Your new line coordinates perfectly with this summer's big events!
- April 10, 2012 at 2:32 PM
- Laura said...
I love watching the gymnastics portion of the summer Olympics, but swimming and rowing are a close 2nd and 3rd. All of the events are really great, and I can't wait to watch this summer!
Your new line coordinates perfectly with this summer's big events!
- April 10, 2012 at 2:33 PM
- Julie said...
My favorite summer sport is track and field. The events are so exciting. My favorite summer memory is of the 1984 Olympics. I was a results runner for the volleyball venue.
Thanks for the chance!
- April 10, 2012 at 2:35 PM
- Isisjem said...
I'm the party pooper that's dreading the olympics and will keep my head down and sew until it's all over. Of course in the UK we also have the queens diamond jubilee so London themed stuff is even more of the moment for us Brits! This line is fab!
- April 10, 2012 at 2:39 PM
- Meredith said...
Love those London fabrics! Tennis is my favorite and I am excited that in London they will be playing at Wimbledon!
- April 10, 2012 at 2:43 PM
- Courtney said...
Love London, Olympics and fabric, this collection is the trifecta! My favorite to watch is track - I used to run, I know it is not even close to the same league, but I just love the sport! My favorite memory is being allowed to stay up late as a kid for Lionel richie to sing in 84 In LA.
- April 10, 2012 at 2:47 PM
- Jessica said...
I'm so glad there are still people out there who love the olympics! I still get excited and antsy waiting for them to come- it's so exciting! One of my favorite olympics were the last summer games in Beijing, mainly because I was still in college (though at the tail end) and we basically maintained an open house/olympics party the whole time- the tv constantly on and people in and out watching the games. Plus it was summer and I love those summer days when you can just leave the front door open all day. It was a fun and happy time! I'm looking forward to the London games ohsomuch!!!
- April 10, 2012 at 2:48 PM
- Marta S. said...
I, too, LOVE the Olympics! The Summers during which there are Olympic games feel the most summery to me :)
- April 10, 2012 at 2:57 PM
- Bjwalsh101 said...
OLYMPIC JUNKIE should be my middle name. I watch no stop both summer and winter any and all of the sports. It is hard to pick a favorite. But I do enjoy the Men's volleyball and then hockey in the winter.
- April 10, 2012 at 3:00 PM
- Anorina @SameliasMum said...
I love your London prints. My husband is English and super excited about the Olympics being held in his home city.
I love the swimming events. Being Australian, watching our national swimming stars compete, brings the country together.
Oh and synchronised swimming - yes, it is a sport!
- April 10, 2012 at 3:07 PM
- Linda R. said...
Adorable fabric! I love to watch the Olympics, especially the swimming.
- April 10, 2012 at 3:14 PM
- Abby and Stephanie said...
Seriously excited! I love riding in the double decker buses. They make me happy. I love the Olympics. I especially roots for those of any country with special stories. My favorite events -- swimming. Michael Phelps is amazing. Gymnastics -- always in awe of the strength, will and determination and how on earth their bodies can do that. Terrific celebration giveaway!!! I actually had tickets to 3 Olympic events in 1984 but ended up moving to Hawaii so Dad got to attend the boxing events.
- April 10, 2012 at 3:20 PM
- drmithome said...
I love watching gymnastics. Thanks for the giveaway.
- April 10, 2012 at 3:23 PM
- Mary Grace McNamara said...
Since my husband played volleyball at the US Open a few years and we also worked the championships a few years, back in the day when we were a bit younger, I would say volleyball is my favorite. But I also love watching all the other sports especially the water sports.
What a very generous giveaway! I will keep my fingers crossed for this one!
- April 10, 2012 at 3:26 PM
- Yamie said...
I live in London and we can't wait for the Olympics! I love the gymnastics! These prints are stunning. Love the taxis and buses!
I am keeping my fingers crossed!
- April 10, 2012 at 3:38 PM
- Kathryn said...
I'm looking forward to the swimming events. Your Olympics fabric will be used to date quilts 100 years from now. Kathie L in Allentown
- April 10, 2012 at 3:39 PM
- Brittany said...
My favorite summer event has always been diving. But my favorite memory was the 2002 Winter Olympics opening games. I was living in Salt Lake City at the time and my mom and I were watching the opening ceremonies on the TV when she came running down the stairs telling me to go get my warm coat and put boots on. Apparently they still had a couple of tickets available to the ceremony. So we ran down and I got to be at the ceremony, it was way cool.
I'm loving your buses, another fantastic line. Congrats, and thanks for the great giveaway! :-)
- April 10, 2012 at 3:41 PM
- Mrs Flying Blind... said...
These are gorgeous!
I love watching the athletics, particularly all the relays, all that baton action!
- April 10, 2012 at 3:42 PM
- Linda said...
Fabulous fabrics for your Olympic Giveaway. Women's gymnastics and tennis are my favourites. Diving, too, So brave!
Linda on firstname.lastname@example.com
- April 10, 2012 at 3:45 PM
- Anne D said...
Love the fabric. I love London. I end up watching a lot of sports I don't usually watch but always watch the athletics. I have never been to an olympics but have visited a few stadiums when traveling. My daughter swam in the Sydney pool last week!
- April 10, 2012 at 3:51 PM
- Rachelle said...
I think I like cycling the most, probably because it's the one sport I can actually do even if I'm a lot slower!
- April 10, 2012 at 3:53 PM
- Diana said...
I really like your London fabrics. I also love to watch the Olympics. I think my favorite to watch is the ice skating. It is always so pretty. But I think my only shot of ever doing an olympic sport, is curling. It reminds me of an iron and then the "moppers" to get it to the other end.
Have a great day.
- April 10, 2012 at 4:01 PM
- robin said...
Gymnastics is my very favorite! Thanks!!
- April 10, 2012 at 4:03 PM
- Katie B said...
Love this new line, and love the Olympics! Gymnastics is probably my fave.
- April 10, 2012 at 4:03 PM
- Laura said...
This is such a fantastic line. My 3 year old boy is obsessed with red buses and would love anything made with this fabric. We live in England and are planning to go and see the cycling events but didn't manage to get tickets for anything. The olympic torch will pass 3 miles away so we're going to see that too.
- April 10, 2012 at 4:04 PM
- Surely Stitching said...
Wonderful giveaway opportunity! My favourite Olympic moment was seeing the women's 1000 M speedskating final at the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Tremendous race and the home crowd cheered the Canadian skater to gold!
- April 10, 2012 at 4:16 PM
- Malinda said...
I LOVE THIS LINE! I think it's your best yet!
- April 10, 2012 at 4:20 PM
- Gill said...
My son rows for his uni and tried unsucessfully to get olympic tickets for the rowing!! Personally I love tennis!
- April 10, 2012 at 4:22 PM
- Marjorie's Busy Corner said...
Oh wow!!! Who wouldn't want to win some of this fabric....loving it!
Thank you.
- April 10, 2012 at 4:27 PM
- Phyllis said...
I love the Olympics too! My favs are gymnastics and swimming.
- April 10, 2012 at 4:56 PM
- Sonia B said...
Cute, cute, cute. I love swimming and diving. So fun! Thanks for the chance.
- April 10, 2012 at 5:00 PM
- Charlotte E said...
Oooh I need some fabric to remind me of my home town when I'm living all the way over here in Oz. My Mum and Dad would love a London quilt when they come to stay.
- April 10, 2012 at 5:07 PM
- Christina said...
I don't have any favorites. Once the Olympics start I just get obsessed and I end up loving them all!
Your new fabric line is awesome! My son was born in England and we miss living there so much!
- April 10, 2012 at 5:10 PM
- Kati said...
My favorite Olympic story happens to be my marriage. The hubs and I were attending the University of Utah during the Salt Lake Winter Olympics. The school shut down for an entire month for the Olympics, and we decided it would be a great time to get married. It worked perfectly, and we've had 10 great years so far...unfortunately we didn't attend any events that were practically in our backyard.
- April 10, 2012 at 5:11 PM
- Richard Healey said...
I like the water sports like boating, swimming etc. I live in Utah and was here for the winter Olympics miss the fireworks and all the buildings decorated and the flame.
- April 10, 2012 at 5:32 PM
- Lisa Marie said...
In the summer Olympics I like the swimming and gymnastics. Some years ago we got to visit the Olympic park in SLC and it was cool to see, even though the Olympics there were long over.
- April 10, 2012 at 5:52 PM
Oh I would love to win this fabric. London is awesome and I would love to return!! My favorite Olympic sport is swimming and I dreamt of competing in the Olympics, years and years ago while practicing on my YMCA team!
Jenny firstname.lastname@example.com
- April 10, 2012 at 5:55 PM
- Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...
My favorite Olympic memory is from the winter Olympics a few years ago. There was an Aussie who fluked his way into the speed skating final and then won gold cos all the other competitors fell over. Hilarious :oD
- April 10, 2012 at 6:10 PM
- Lori said...
My favorite summer Olympic sport is definitely gymnastics!
- April 10, 2012 at 6:10 PM
- Ella said...
I like watching diving. My favorite moments were watching the 92 Olympics from Japan. It was a very interesting experience to be watching an international competition in another country.
- April 10, 2012 at 6:18 PM
- charlotte said...
I love the gymnastics too. Favorite memory has to be Nadia Comenici(sp?) nailing her routine. She was so small and serious looking. I think that was in the 70's? Boy, am I old.
Thanks for the giveaway. Love your designs. I just made my first Laurie Wisbrun quilt with Jack and Jenny. What fun!
- April 10, 2012 at 6:27 PM
- Amy's Crafty Shenanigans said...
These fabrics are fab! As a Canadian living here in London I am super excited for Team Canada to be here this summer. We weren't lucky on the ticket front but I'll see more through the tv anyways! I get emotional watching the gymnastics and have been known to cry just watching people skip rope!! Anyways, I would love to enter (and win?) - thanks for the chance.
- April 10, 2012 at 6:33 PM
- Kim said...
I love gymnastics. I was so taken by Olga Korbet (this was pre-Nadia)in the 70's, she was my idol! Okay, now you know how old I am! Thanks for the chance to win :)
- April 10, 2012 at 6:36 PM
- Jan Maree said...
Oh thanks for the chance to win. I love the Olympics but my favourite stories are the ones of the athletes from the poorer countries who worked and dreamed against all odds to make it just to have the honour of completing and representing their country! that is what sportmanship is all about! Love it!
- April 10, 2012 at 6:51 PM
- WandaFish said...
Next Stop London looks wonderful, as are all your fabrics!
I love the Olympics and my favourites are Swimming and Gymnastics. I'm so excited that they'll be hosted in London even though I won't get to any live events :)
- April 10, 2012 at 6:54 PM
- CapitolaQuilter said...
What a fun line. When my son was in elementary school the Olympic torch came through town and he got to have his picture taken with it which was quite fun. Gymnastics is top of the list I'd have to say.
- April 10, 2012 at 6:59 PM
- Jennie said...
These are adorable! Thanks for the opportunity Laurie!
- April 10, 2012 at 7:12 PM
- Marg M said...
I could give your take the Olympics but then get caught up in the excitement of it all. I enjoy the team events
- April 10, 2012 at 7:19 PM
- Anya said...
As a little girl of course it had to be gymnastics!! Although it still amazes me what those little girls can do, I think I'm more of a swim event person these days. But really, truth be told, I'll watch whatever happens to be on at the time.
- April 10, 2012 at 7:28 PM
- Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts said...
Oh I do love these!! My favourite Olympic memory was the Sydney Olympics and being a proud 12yo Aussie girl of our country!!
Closely followed by going to the Aussie Swim Trials a couple of weeks ago with my mum!
- April 10, 2012 at 7:57 PM
- Andrea said...
these are so cute!! love 'em
- April 10, 2012 at 8:01 PM
- Cecilia said...
I love this fabric! My youngest son-in-law won the gold in 2008 for Skeet and he will be going to London for the games this summer. I would love to go with my daughter, but I have to stay here and watch my granddaughter for them. My daughter will be taking their 3 month old with them. Winning some of this fabric would be great. I could make a skirt for both of their daughters to wear during the Olympics. Thanks for the chance to win some of your beautiful fabric.
- April 10, 2012 at 8:34 PM
- christilee said...
- April 10, 2012 at 8:54 PM
- Jennie @ Porch Swing Quilts said...
Oooh, London fabric! Love it, want it, need it!
As for a favorite event, um, I like everything I watch. I do look forward to the swimmers and the divers. But then I also like the archery and softball and track and field . . . and, well, you get the idea.
- April 10, 2012 at 9:02 PM
- Ashley said...
I love diving! So beautiful.
- April 10, 2012 at 9:05 PM
- Madelaine said...
Synchronized Swimming!!! Added bonus: it will now always make me think of the Bob's Burgers episode.
- April 10, 2012 at 9:16 PM
- supersara20 said...
I like the swimming events but I really like the opening ceremonies, I always get choked up!
- April 10, 2012 at 9:56 PM
- DianeY said...
I love so many of the events! Swimming, diving, gymnastics, soccer & tennis are probably my favorites. Actually, I think I like everything but wrestling!
Love these fabrics-especially the bottom two!
- April 10, 2012 at 9:59 PM
- Tamie said...
Summer Olympics are all about the swimming for me.
- April 10, 2012 at 10:29 PM
- janequiltsslowly said...
That is such cool fabric! I love London. I was lucky enough to be there for the Royal Wedding (Charles & Diana) while attending a summer program at London University. The day before the wedding my fellow visiting scholars would not skip class to get a good spot, so my roommate and I went on our own and held onto our spot for the group. Went to the fireworks, watched people and had an amazing time on the Mall. I love skiing (especially cross-country) in the Winter games and long distance running and cycling in the Summer games.
- April 10, 2012 at 10:37 PM
- Courtney said...
Being an aspiring marathoner, the marathon is my favorite event. My kids, however, wouldn't miss a moment of gymnastics, so they'll get lots of airplay in our home too!
memyselfandthemuchkins at gmail dot com
- April 10, 2012 at 11:12 PM
- tubilinha tiacarminha said...
Eu jogava volei na escola,mas era a anã da turma.Jogos Olímpicos ou não,amo esportes.(entenda assistir).Gostei muito destes tecidos.Obrigada.
- April 10, 2012 at 11:24 PM
- Poppyprint said...
What superfun!!! I love London and the Olympics. Wish I was going. I've always loved watching gymnastics best, but swimming is so exciting, too (all those rippling muscles look a little more exciting when they're slicing through water). Your fabric is perfect!
- April 11, 2012 at 12:01 AM
- Jennyroo said...
I love summer olympics! The swimming, diving, gymnastics, triathlon and rowing are my favourite events!
- April 11, 2012 at 12:09 AM
- Andrea said...
My favorite sport is gymnastics...like the rest too, but LOVE Gymnastics. Love the fab fabric!
- April 11, 2012 at 12:29 AM
- LochKnitsMonster said...
Thanks for the giveaway. I love your London fabric. My favorite Olympic sport is gymnastics. I can't wait to see this year's U.S. women compete. The team is looking really good.
lochknitsmonster (at) gmail (dot) com
- April 11, 2012 at 1:48 AM
- woof nanny said...
I love the Olympics also. When I was a kid, I fantasized about being an Olympic swimmer. Every Olympics holds a little bit of magic. Such a fun fabric design--I can easily see other cities in this line...
- April 11, 2012 at 2:06 AM
- Rafael's Mum said...
Really love your new London fabrics. I am going to the FQ retreat in London in June and was looking for suitable fabric to make some little presents with. Job done!! Would be great to win some so thank you very much for the chance.
- April 11, 2012 at 2:19 AM
- Unknown said...
I swear I have English blood because I love all things England, especially anything "Union Jack".
I love the gymnastics, but I'm also a diving fan and love the equestrian events.
shel704 at aol dot com
- April 11, 2012 at 2:28 AM
Love it
- April 11, 2012 at 2:52 AM
- heartsease54 said...
My favorite Summer Olympic sport has to be gymnastics, followed closely by swimming. Can't wait to watch it, London is one of my favorite cities. I would love to go back one day (just not during the Olympics please, rather watch those on TV). Love this fabric, almost as much as your llamas!
- April 11, 2012 at 2:52 AM
- Susanne said...
I LOVE London! I will spend a week there (Jubilee time in June).
My favourite Olympic sport is riding.
- April 11, 2012 at 3:00 AM
- Unknown said...
I love the olympics too! Winter better than summer I think, but I will certainly be glued to my TV this summer. Your fabric would also be perfect for some FQ retreat travel goodies... just sayin' :o)
- April 11, 2012 at 3:09 AM
- Zuzan said...
Swimming is first (Aussies v USA) Yay. Then it is the floor gymnastics as bodies go into amazing positions and precision. Yhen others have balls/hoops/ribbons to catch/move. I try to thread a needle. LOVE London buses, Big Ben our LLamas would love London too as I want this combo. A bit weird yet fun. Susan S from downunder. Thank you for London - a skirt would be great.
- April 11, 2012 at 3:14 AM
- José said...
Thanks for this giveaway, what a beautiful fabric! Brings back memories to a London trip with Christmas with my mother and sister. I'll be watching the Olympics this summer, no specific sport though
- April 11, 2012 at 5:06 AM
- thorngrove said...
Those are perfect fabrics for the London Olypics. :-)
Gymnastics! Closely followed by the rowing. I tried to get tickets for both and the opening/closing ceremonies but sadly got none. :-( I shall just have to queue along the street to watch the torch go by as my bit of live Olympic action.
- April 11, 2012 at 5:10 AM
- JustPam said...
Your fabrics are fabulous! I like the gymnastics and the high diving.
- April 11, 2012 at 5:36 AM
- Kate (KnitsInClass) said...
Love the fabric! I am envisioning all sorts of projects...
I always love to watch the gymnastics, but swimming and diving are equally popular around this house.
- April 11, 2012 at 6:09 AM
- Margaret said...
I just love your fabrics - they're so fresh and fun!! The Olympics are the best TV watching around - summer or winter! It's hard to choose one favorite; I most enjoy the swimming and gymnastics. Thanks for the giveaway and Congrats on another great line of fabric designs.
- April 11, 2012 at 6:31 AM
- craftytammie said...
fun fabrics! diving and gymnastics are 2 of my faves.
- April 11, 2012 at 6:40 AM
- KidSpace Stuff said...
Have been an avid Olympics fan since the 70's. No favorite. I love it all! I do have a friend who is on the USA Paralympics basketball team and will be in London when their games are held right after the Olympics. They are amazing athletes as well.
Love the fabric line!
- April 11, 2012 at 6:58 AM
Swimming is my favorite . Love London , my favorite city of all . So exciting and busy , love riding the tubes . I am in love with your new fabric .
- April 11, 2012 at 7:01 AM
- Mrs Chronic-Shock said...
I grew up a swimmer, so it's swimming for me! Especially the short distances that are so neck-and-neck. Last summer olympics the swimming was so exciting to watch with Phelps competing!
- April 11, 2012 at 7:04 AM
Lovely fabric! I'd have to say I like the gymnastics best in the summer olympics.
- April 11, 2012 at 7:20 AM
- Rhonda D. said...
Great giveaway! I ike the swimming, diving and track & field.
Thanks for the chance to win!!
- April 11, 2012 at 7:28 AM
- SewSuzie said...
I love watching it all particularly the athletics. Being an ex-Sydney sider - Sydney was definitely the place to be in 2000. I was speaking with colleagues in London tonight and the buzz is starting to build.
- April 11, 2012 at 7:29 AM
My favorite sport to watch in the summer Olympics is the equestrain events. I am a contributer to USET and really wish the big TV networks would show more of these events!
Thank you!
- April 11, 2012 at 7:57 AM
- Margaret said...
I love the swimming and diving events in the summer olympics. This fabric is awesome.
- April 11, 2012 at 8:04 AM
- B said...
Love this fabric!
Love equestrian events.
Thanks for this chance to win.
- April 11, 2012 at 8:21 AM
- Jill said...
fun fun fun! thanks for the opportunity to score some great double decker buses-- my fave.
- April 11, 2012 at 8:23 AM
- deserae said...
I love the gymnastics!
- April 11, 2012 at 8:30 AM
- ThirdMargaret said...
We have an Olympic countdown going at our house, too! My favorite event is the one I am watching at the time. My girls ride so we trry to catch as many of the equestrian events as possible. Thank goodness for multi-channel coverage and the dvr! I look forward to stitching up some London lovelies with you great new line, thank you!
- April 11, 2012 at 8:43 AM
- LethargicLass said...
I love so many of the sports, but I really love the gymnastics... it is amazing what the human body can do... and as for a story, when I lived out West I worked in a lingerie store and sold Silken Laumann bras! That was thrilling LOL... thanks for this chance for your (once again) amazing fabric :)
- April 11, 2012 at 9:09 AM
- Sudi-Laura said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- April 11, 2012 at 9:10 AM
- Sudi-Laura said...
Ack! Love this fabric line! I love watching gymnastics, as I could never do anything they do :-) but, how cute would a set of tote bags be out of your amazing fabrics??
- April 11, 2012 at 9:12 AM
- Mary on Lake Pulaski said...
What wonderful fabric (and so is Brrr0! My favorite summer Olympic events are all the track events especially the 100 meter dash!
- April 11, 2012 at 9:58 AM
The most memorable would be the marathon.. to think of people running for 42 km especially since I cannot run 100 yards...phew! it's amazing to me.. toni-anne:) weftandwarp(at)hotmail(dot)com
- April 11, 2012 at 10:37 AM
- Betty said...
I have been a l-o-n-g time Olympics follower and whether it's winter or summer events, I stay glued to the TV and watch everything! My favorite events are in swimming and diving and of course, the opening and closing. This line is adorable and I can envision any number of things from it.
- April 11, 2012 at 10:40 AM
- April 11, 2012 at 11:06 AM
I love to watch the high diving!
- April 11, 2012 at 11:13 AM
- kbzelazny said...
LOVE the equestrian and gymnastics events. Hope Friday the 13ths is lucky for me! My daughter is going to London this summer, so I'd love to make her something with this fabric. Thanks so much!
- April 11, 2012 at 12:14 PM
- Dana said...
I'm with you...I can watch the Olympics for DAYS! Not just the normals sports, but pretty much any of them. I guess swimming would be my favorite if I had to choose.
Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
- April 11, 2012 at 12:35 PM
- memmens said...
What a fab line, I'll be in London for the FQ retreat before the Olympics begin and I'm very excited about that. I'm looking forward to my children being interested in it with me for the first time! thanks for a great giveaway
- April 11, 2012 at 1:10 PM
- Liberty said...
I think my favorite would be either beach volleyball or swimming. Thanks for the chance to win!
- April 11, 2012 at 1:14 PM
- Deb said...
What a lovely line of fabric!
- April 11, 2012 at 1:21 PM
- Unknown said...
Definitely diving, sailing and badminton. Super-excited to be in the same time zone this year, even though we won't be at the venues.
- April 11, 2012 at 1:27 PM
- Samantha said...
my favorite thing about the olympics, winter or summer, is seeing all the nations come together to celebrate- the opening ceremonies always blow me away. and I love watching them with my 2 kiddos...
- April 11, 2012 at 1:35 PM
Love the fabric. At one point I wanted to be in the Olympic, but I'm not an athlete,so I just sew. My favorite olympic memories are the made up ones where I won gold medals.
- April 11, 2012 at 1:35 PM
- MadeByMoon said...
So cool!! :) love the fabrics!
Love London to my brother lives there ;)
Olympics are cool to..but we have a busy summer also with the soccer to! :)
- April 11, 2012 at 1:39 PM
- canngil said...
what delightful fabric! hard to choose, but I do like the white bus print! skirt sounds fun, also a pillowcase or jammer shorts for my grand son!
- April 11, 2012 at 1:40 PM
- mjb said...
I'm going to have a baby right before the olympics start this year, and I'm so excited to watch gymnastics & track while I'm hanging out with baby!
- April 11, 2012 at 1:41 PM
- Jenn said...
I've been eyeing this fabric for the past few days. And I also love love love London!
- April 11, 2012 at 1:42 PM
- Bango Tango said...
Love this fabric! Would make the cutest curtains!
- April 11, 2012 at 1:45 PM
These fabrics are great and I know at least one little person living with me who would go crazy getting a pillow or little quilt -
my olympic memories: mostly winter games: my all time favourite: EDDIE THE EAGLE!
- April 11, 2012 at 1:50 PM
My favorite Summer Olympics sport is one we don't get much television time for, the shooting sports. What I love to watch, also, are the rowing events!
- April 11, 2012 at 1:51 PM
- Angel Walia said...
The london fabrics are lovely :).
Well my favorite Summer Olympics memories are from the 2008 Summer Olympics that were held in Beijing. I enjoyed watching the swimming events. I am not a great swimmer myself so I have a great amount of respect for swimmers. The 2008 Summer Olympics was very exciting to watch because of Michael Phelps.
We all were glued to the television each time that he competed. I knew that he was going for 8 gold medals in one single Summer Olympics and I was on the edge of my seats for a few weeks while watching him compete. I would get very excited when Phelps would enter the pool area with his ear buds in his ears. He never seemed very nervous at all before a race. I loved watching his mom sitting in the stands looking so nervous. It put a huge smile on my face because I also am a mom and have a son.
If i win these fabrics..would surely make some nice knee length shorts for my 4 year old son :)) who loves to swim :))
- April 11, 2012 at 1:52 PM
- sandyb said...
I love the swimming or maybe gymnastics or maybe running, oh heck, I love it all:)
Thank you for this great chance!
sandyb720 at gmail dot com
- April 11, 2012 at 1:56 PM
- Threads said...
Fun London fabrics! My favorite Summer Olympics sport is gymnastics. Those girls are amazing!
- April 11, 2012 at 1:59 PM
I like the equestrian events myself since I was in Conyers Ga when they held the equestrian events there during the infamous Atlanta Summer Olympics.
- April 11, 2012 at 2:00 PM
I really adore your winsome line of fabrics, & your newest is just terrific! What a great topic for inspiration: the London Olympics! All kinds of fabulous prolects come to mind! 'Can't wait to see these "in person!" Thanks for this great opportunity!
- April 11, 2012 at 2:04 PM
Synchronised swimming - absolutely ridiculous, yet strangely compelling! Love the London line.
- April 11, 2012 at 2:10 PM
- Kelly said...
I love high diving myself, but not as much as I love this new line!!!!! How cute would this be as a back pack or messenger bag for a boy? Good thing I have two boys!
- April 11, 2012 at 2:19 PM
- Two Wednesdays said...
Your fabrics are gorgeous - I love those london buses. I love the swimming, trampolining and gymastics - sadly will be watching it on the TV as likve everybody else I know, we didn't get tickets. I'm not sure who did get tickets - but I will be very unhappy if it looks as though those stadiums aren't full!
- April 11, 2012 at 2:24 PM
- Pinspot said...
I've been lucky enough to see the Olympic torch twice. The first time I was in 1984 when it ran down the PCH in Oceanside, CA. I was almost six and I barely remember it. The second time was on Provo, Utah's Center St and I will never forget it. The bitter cold, the houses with all their Christmas lights still up, the look on the man's face who was carrying the torch, it was magical!
- April 11, 2012 at 2:25 PM
- jill said...
Wish the US had the cute and functions taxi cabs of London. Congrats!
- April 11, 2012 at 2:32 PM
- Aruna Neela said...
How exciting having your fabric line picked up by Robert Kaufman! Your fabrics are SO darn cute and EVER so English! We were lucky to have the winter olympics here in Vancouver in 2010--and that in itself is my favourite moment in Olympic history!;) I am now salivating thinking of all the cute stuff I can make for my kids with your fabric!!!! Aruna
- April 11, 2012 at 2:41 PM
Besides the fact that I love your fabrics, the part of the Olympics near and dear to my heart would be the Olympics for the physically challenged. A dear friend of mine took part in the sailing part of the special Olympics and won with his sailing team. He had been born with only one hand and his parents raised him to think of himself as NOT handicapped in any way and he was a marvelous snow skier, water skier, sailor, and surfer. He won during the Clinton presidency and went to the White House to receive his award. He died of cancer this year and I'll always remember growing up with this inspirational friend who lived his life so fully.
- April 11, 2012 at 2:46 PM
- Binks said...
I'm all about Gymnastics, men and women's. I think it's just ridiculously crazy what they can do.
- April 11, 2012 at 2:47 PM
- Caroline said...
I have always loved the Olympics and watch as much of the coverage as possible. I would love to be able to visit London anytime! It would be a blessing to be the winner of your fabric. Thank you for making this possible.
- April 11, 2012 at 2:53 PM
Love to win the fabrics as that is the closest I will get to London!!! They look bright and fun to sew.
- April 11, 2012 at 2:55 PM
I LOVE the Olympics!!
- April 11, 2012 at 2:56 PM
- Diane said...
Your fabric is delightful-- I hope I'm lucky :) My favorite parts are when the awards are given after all the hard work.
many thanks....
- April 11, 2012 at 3:00 PM
- Unknown said...
Love the Olympics! I love finding out about the different athletes and what they have gone through to get to the Games. Love to watch gymnastics and swimming/diving.
- April 11, 2012 at 3:09 PM
- Donna Lee said...
- April 11, 2012 at 3:09 PM
- Chimene said...
1984 Summer Olympics - Los Angeles. It was amazing watching female gymnist, Mary Lou Retton. She bounced off that mat with such energy. I remember watching her, thinking - "She owns this." She was the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title--and the first female on the Wheaties Box...doesn't get better then that!
- April 11, 2012 at 3:16 PM
- BJM said...
I enjoy the skiing, snow boarding, and ice skating events in the Winter Olympics. Gymnastics in the summer.
- April 11, 2012 at 3:18 PM
- Unknown said...
I can see some fussy cut projects already with these fabrics. Love it!
- April 11, 2012 at 3:19 PM
I'm just now working on a quilt namen "Strees of London"! If i get i finished in time, it will hang at the Nordic Quilt Meet in Aalborg in May.
- April 11, 2012 at 3:19 PM
- Reena said...
love the fabric and SWIMMING at the Summer Olympics!
- April 11, 2012 at 3:22 PM
- Kearney Starr said...
I adore your fabrics!!! I recently ordered your book as well, can't wait to start making my own! So excited for the Olympics, soccer is my favorite!
- April 11, 2012 at 3:32 PM
- The Rx quilter said...
OMG! I have been eyeing this fabric everywhere! The 1996 Summer Olympics...I was on total bedrest with my twins...14 weeks in bed on my right side...the Olympics kept me entertained for 2+ weeks. I would love to win! Lisa in Texas
- April 11, 2012 at 3:39 PM
- Jennifer said...
I love the Olympics. I went to a few of the events when it was in Sydney. My husband hates the olympics, I am hoping he will change his mind when it is in his home country this year
- April 11, 2012 at 3:52 PM
- pkrueger said...
Love the fabric!
Soccer is our family's favorite summer olympic sport for sure.
- April 11, 2012 at 4:01 PM
The gruelling 1500mt swim, that separates the speedsters from the stayers. Who can ever forget Keiran Perkins' domination of the event 1992, 1996 with rival Daniel Kowalski. Just when we thought Kieran was over it all & ready to retire he came back & did it again. He took silver in 2000 when beaten by Grant Hackett, but Keiran's persistance, athleticism & dignity made him a truly inspirational swimmer as well as an Australian Living Treasure.
But what isn't there to love about the Olympics? It's a matter of being caught in the moment.
- April 11, 2012 at 4:08 PM
- Maria Kievit said...
That is totally cool fabric. I always enjoy watching gymnastics, or any of the swimming, diving events. Thanks for the giveaway.
- April 11, 2012 at 4:40 PM
- Kathryn said...
What fun! Clever girl! Athletics is my favourite
Olympic sport
Kathryn of Canberra, Australia
- April 11, 2012 at 4:45 PM
- kitty said...
Tennis is my favorite Olympic sport to watch and tennis at Wimbledon is a treat!
I absolutely love this new fabric line: the design and the colors are great!
- April 11, 2012 at 5:12 PM
- Clothesline Club said...
Would love to win your fabric. My long time aerobics instructor is as much a Olympic fan as you are. I would love to make her a quilt from your line and give it to her for the summer games. Thanks for the give away.
- April 11, 2012 at 5:20 PM
- melissa p said...
love the fabric! I love watching the gymnastics every year!
- April 11, 2012 at 5:24 PM
- Anne said...
My father always had us lined up in front of the TV to watch the olympics. Sometimes we got to eat TV dinners and watch. it was a family affair.
- April 11, 2012 at 5:35 PM
love the london fabrics and cant wait for the olympics, sad the us med got knocked out!!!!! Will watch every minute I can sit and sew in front of the t!
- April 11, 2012 at 5:35 PM
- Gisele Schoene said...
Beautiful fabric! I love to watch the gymnastics and volleyball! Thanks for a chance ro win!
- April 11, 2012 at 6:05 PM
- jacholm said...
My favorite events has to be gymnastic followed very closely by diving. I wish we could get to london for the Olympics too.
- April 11, 2012 at 6:15 PM
Oh it hasto be little nadia, and her perfect ten. We even have it on video somewhere here. I love all the gymnastics. And your fabrics too. Can I have bus shorts I wonder? Thanks for the opportunity to enter.
- April 11, 2012 at 6:22 PM
- hueisei said...
I love watching gymnastics.
Thanks for the giveaway.
- April 11, 2012 at 6:28 PM
Great fun fabric colors!!! Love the Summer Olympics!! Can't wait to our swimmers!!
- April 11, 2012 at 6:33 PM
- taffee said...
I love the gymnastics and the swimming. Thanks for a great giveaway.
- April 11, 2012 at 6:43 PM
wonderful bright colours of the iconic London, beautiful
- April 11, 2012 at 7:06 PM
- Patty said...
I love watching the figure skating.
- April 11, 2012 at 7:32 PM
Fun fabric to remember our visit to London...great timing with Olympics. I think of many fun projects.
- April 11, 2012 at 7:34 PM
- Sindy said...
My twin an I always make a quilt during the Olympics. The fabrics would great for our London quilt. We'll be watching tennis!
- April 11, 2012 at 8:05 PM
- Denny1600 said...
My husband and I are competition rifle shooters, so the shooting events are our favorites. We love all the Olympic events and watch all that we can. My favorite Olympic moments: 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta when my husband finished 9th and 8th representing the USA in those Olympic games! So proud of his perserverance.
- April 11, 2012 at 9:26 PM
- pklaw said...
All the athletes are so inspiring. I love hearing their stories of perseverance a as I SIT and sew! Love your fabric!
- April 11, 2012 at 9:50 PM
- Sher7753 said...
I love to watch the gymnastics, swimming and the ice skating!
- April 11, 2012 at 11:28 PM
- Threader said...
I really love your new line.
I am an Olympic junkie & I always cry when someone wins!
Really love the curling.
- April 11, 2012 at 11:28 PM
I love to watch and see what these young people have accomplished. they never cease to amaze me. Love the material.
- April 11, 2012 at 11:39 PM
- sewhelpme said...
Who-hoo ... next stop London!! Fun fabric: can't wait to see folks using it and what they'll make.
- April 11, 2012 at 11:42 PM
- Beth said...
My favorite Olympic memory is from 1976, when I was 12, and kept a detailed scrapbook with every newspaper article I could find on the Russian gymnastics team. It was the summer of Nadia Comaneci (sp?) but I adored one of her teammates, a tiny girl whose name I don't recall. I was among the littlest kids in my class, so I am sure that influenced my choice.
- April 12, 2012 at 2:46 AM
- lfhpueblo said...
I have a tie for my favorite, it's the swimming and the gymnastics. I think both are great to watch.
- April 12, 2012 at 5:24 AM
- liberal sprinkles said...
Gosh the fabrics are so cute! I especially love the buses.
My favorite summer Olympics sports to watch are swimming and gymnastics.
- April 12, 2012 at 5:27 AM
- trillium said...
My favorite Summer Olympics sport is the diving. The participants have to do so much in a few seconds. The fabric is cute, cute, cute, and could be used for other UK-themed quilts.
- April 12, 2012 at 9:51 AM
- Stacey said...
I love the Olympics too...there is something so magical about the whole thing. I'm excited to see how involved the royal family is going to be since its in London!! I have to say, I'm the most excited to watch Basketball...I just love mens basketball, probably since my Dad was such a fan growing up. I can't wait!
- April 12, 2012 at 9:56 AM
- Lisnaweary Quilts said...
I love to watch the swimming at the Olympics, I loved the Swimming stadium at the Beijing olympics - wonder what London's will look like?
- April 12, 2012 at 11:50 AM
- Ina said...
Ordinarily I'm not much of a sports fan, but during the Summer Olympics if the TV is on, I'll watch pretty much anything except boxing and wrestling. I'm thinking London will be a wonderful backdrop for the Games -- and Next Stop, London is a perfect complement. Thanks for a chance to win some!
- April 12, 2012 at 1:14 PM
- Elisabetta said...
I like watching gymnastics, and diving. I love horses and I'd like to see more sports at the Olympics.
What I remember is the perfect score Nadia Comaneci did and also the great Yuri Chechi "the Lord of the Rings"
- April 12, 2012 at 4:08 PM
- JuneBug said...
Love watching Gymnastics and of course swimming! But really the Winter Games are my favorite as I'm a snow person :)
- April 12, 2012 at 7:01 PM
- Jen B said...
I have a cousin that tried out for the Olympic track and field team. I've loved watching the summer Olympics for that reason alone!
- April 12, 2012 at 8:09 PM
- sara said...
I love the running, running alot of half and full marathons myself I appreciate just how fast they are! Swimming is fun too, because I'm a terrible swimmer and they make it look so easy! Love the fabric which would be perfect for the Union Jack pillow tutorial heather posted on alamodefabric today!!
- April 12, 2012 at 8:36 PM
- epban said...
Love your London fabric! Olympic memories include seeing the torch in Atlanta in 1984 and 1996! Love to watch the gymnastics.
- April 12, 2012 at 9:32 PM
- Carla G said...
My favorite summer olympic sport is diving. It just amazes me how fancy/skillful the dives are. Thanks for a chance to win this awesome fabric! :)
- April 12, 2012 at 11:11 PM
wow, I just discovered your wunderful fabrics. They are fantastic! Hope I will hold in hand once a piece of them...
Manuela - living in Europe - let us have them, please!
- April 13, 2012 at 1:33 AM
Those fabrics are lovely.
I'll hopefully learn to crochet this year while watching the Olympics :) Because I love watching sports... Any sports.
- April 13, 2012 at 2:31 AM
- Lee said...
I love this line of fabric - especially the yellow! love London and the Olympics! Thanks!
- April 13, 2012 at 8:02 AM
- SunflowerSkies said...
Love the fabric! My favorite summer event is probably the swimming or gymnastics.
- April 13, 2012 at 8:08 AM
Love the london fabrics... The Olympics are always an inspiration.
- April 13, 2012 at 9:12 AM
- Jenny said...
i love watching all the olympics with my kids .... we discuss the dedication and amazing talents of these individuals! i love you london fabrics
- April 13, 2012 at 2:49 PM
- bee said...
oh i might be too late but here goes anyway! perfect fabric for the Olympics!!
- April 13, 2012 at 9:41 PM
- Ivete said...
My favorite is gymnastics, hands-down! I always wished I could learn to fly like they do . . .
Love your new London fabric line! Thanks for having the contest!
- April 13, 2012 at 10:18 PM
- needle and nest said...
What adorable line! My favorite Olympic sport has always been gymnastics. Thanks for the chance to win!
- April 13, 2012 at 11:32 PM
- Foskew Family Down Under said...
Oooo I Sew wish I had seen this in time... Being English and being just about as far away as one can get from London (living in Perth, western Australia) i could have consoled myself and helped my homesickness by making a quilt with those London fabrics!!!!
- April 15, 2012 at 4:58 AM


text:
Over the past 15 years, poet, novelist, and filmmaker Tan Lin has been at work creating an "ambient" mode of literature that engages a set of practices including sampling, communal production, and social networks, addressing issues such as relaxed copyright, boredom, plagiarism, and the commodification of attention.
He has written 10 books, most recently Seven Controlled Vocabularies and Obituary 2004. The Joy of Cooking; Insomnia and the Aunt; and HEATH COURSE PAK. His video work has screened at the Yale Art Museum, Artists Space, the Drawing Center, and the Ontological Hysterical Theatre. He is currently finishing work on a novel, OUR FEELINGS WERE MADE BY HAND. He teaches creative writing at New Jersey City University.
We talked by Skype, G-chat, email, phone, and used Google Drive in real-time to talk about the many different uses of technology in his work and what its implications are for the future of literature:
In your books, especially HEATH (plagiarism/outsource) and Seven Controlled Vocabularies and Obituary 2004. The Joy of Cooking, you introduced people to a new idea of what a book of literature can be. For these books, in their various versions and associated events, you incorporated everything from email to Twitter, programming languages to RSS feeds, Google Translate to Post-it notes. What led you to use so many different forms of technology in the creation and publication of a book? How would you define a book?
People forget that a book or codex is a technology. My interest with HEATH and 7CV was to treat the book as a distinct medial platform through which a lot of ancillary information passes, much like a broadcast medium like TV or a narrow-cast medium like Twitter or Tumblr. Reading is information control, just as a metadata tag is a bibliographic control. So I wanted to highlight the book's medial and time-based underpinnings.
How would you prepare someone who has never read a Tan Lin book to read one of your books?
It's a little hard to say. I think a book is something consumed slowly over many years—it's a little like watching a plant reproduce. What are HEATH and 7CV? I'm not sure, but maybe a delayed reading experience that involves Course Paks, marketing departments of publishing houses, seminars at the University of Pennsylvania, RSS feeds, and Post-it notes. And, of course, other books—with 7CV, The Joy of Cooking—and with plagiarism/outsource, blogs that chronicled Heath Ledger's death. Why insert The Joy of Cooking into the title of 7CV? Because it was the cookbook my family used to become American and because I thought the title would increase Google hits. I consider Google a mode of (loose) autobiography. A book in Google Books, like someone's search history, isn't really a book; it's data connected to other data, and it's searchable. Reading, like autobiography, is a subset of a search function...

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Despite it being publicized as a low-key wedding, the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton will be anything but.
The Daily Mail recently released lush photos of the 19 rooms in Buckingham Palace where the royal reception will be held after the wedding takes place in Westminster Abbey on April 29.
Some of the rooms include the State Dining Room, decked out with oil paintings of British monarchs throughout history, and the White Drawing Room, a lavish space overlooking the gardens with a Royals-only secret entrance.
U.S. & World
A traditional fruitcake--the couple's wedding cake--will be displayed in the portrait gallery among priceless works of art.
Those lucky enough to attend will also be eating like royalty. Though the menu is still closely guarded, it will be prepared by the staff in charge of producing all meals when the Queen is in residence.
What will the happy couple be drinking? Only soft drinks, the Mail says, save a glass of champagne for the toast.
Selected Reading: Daily Mail, BBC USA Today


text:
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text:
Dear Lauren,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your creativity with The Jewish Hostess readers. I'm loving how you took inexpensive shower curtain rings and transformed them into stunning napkin rings that could easily sell for $25+ on sites like Barney's NY. The great thing about these napkin rings is that you can use them several times and as soon as you get into another napkin ring mood, you can go ahead and create a brand new color pop themed dozen. Great Job, LAUREN!!!! Marlene
p.s. Attn: all Jewish Hostess readers: This site is for YOU and meant to feature all of YOUR Jewish Hostess talents! Please share your great recipes, table settings and DIY photos HERE!
Hi Marlene,
I am always inspired by your blog, I love how it is a hub for creativity and truly exemplifies the commitment women have to their families and home.
My husband was away this week and I decided to make projects to keep me busy. I was walking around Ikea and found these Orchid flowers ($1.99) a stem and immediately thought they would be perfect for napkin rings! I wanted the lucite look for the actual ring but didn't want to spend a lot, so I headed over to the bathroom department and found a pack of 12 clear shower curtain rings for ($1.79) I put it in my cart and said "I'll figure out how to attach it when I get home." I passed by Lana's Fabric for some matching green ribbon and I was all set. I cut the orchid in half so that it wasn't so overpowering for the napkin. To hold the gap in the center of the ring to the flower I used electrical tape that I found in my toolbox because it was most pliable and adhesive for a strong and steady hold. Wrapped some ribbon to cover the tape and sealed it with hot glue – Voila! I am so happy with the finished product – under $1.50 each you can't go wrong!
Lauren Avital
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text:
Your best friend is getting married. You need to think of a present. Something meaningful. Something unusual. Something no one has ever thought of before! Possibly one of the hardest things to do. I don't know about you guys, but buying birthday presents for friends is something I find to be very challenging. If I am going to give a present, it should mean something otherwise what's the point? You can just imagine what happens when it's time to decide on a wedding present! Many of my friends never got one (sorry guys! now you know why!) -I just never found the right thing.
There is loads of inspiration out there -like on Pinterest that should make life easier! Alas, we all are quite familiar with Pinterest fails so unless we know for sure that we can do it- we are too scared to try it!
Some people are easy to buy presents for because they are certain kind of people, there is no need to second guess what they may/may not like.
They may be hipsters.
They might be coffee loving people. Via
They may be Breaking Bad kinda people.Via
Or the kinds who love all things pretty.Via
They could just be regular people .
Source unknown (If you know where this photo is from, let me know!)
In the end though, you just want some really really special to give! Last year, The Unreal Bride worked on a special present for one of our cousins wedding. The project was to make a cookbook with the family's favourite recipes accompanied by some beautiful food photos. We have worked with food before and it's fun but we really didn't fathom the enormity of this project. Somehow though, we managed and the book looked fabulous. This post is an introduction to the wedding present project of the year – expect lots of food photos and maybe some recipes if you want! To give you an idea of what I am talking about- this photo shoot we did for Ketchup Bags was around the time we were shooting for the cookbook!
What is the most creative present you have ever given anyone? Tell us! We would love to know!


text:
Global Face Art
Fashion and Beauty Make-up
Rae Morris is a real icon in the field of beauty and fashion make-up. And yet, the longest-serving L'Oreal Creative Director (2003-2013) started small: with a hair salon in her home city of Brisbane. At the age of 19, the Australian native traveled to Istanbul to a "Model of the World" contest, where she was offered the privilege of touching up Naomi Campbell's lip gloss – in front of the frantically clicking shutters of the world's paparazzi. Her passion had been aroused. Back in Australia, Rae completed a training course with legendary make-up artist Richard Sharah. Since then, Morris has worked with the world's most famous photographers, did the make-up looks for magazine covers and editorials, and designed and directed make-up for well-known fashion shows. Rae Morris doesn't just regularly share her knowledge in seminars but has also published it in six successful books that serve as textbooks in make-up schools around the world.


text: The way of the Mahdi will put them right. That is no problem. I mean, if any errors are being made, it will correct them. Hazrat Mahdi (as) and the Prophet Jesus (as) will design the whole world. Both Hazrat Mahdi (as) and the Prophet Jesus (as) are expert architects. Both are also expert artists, with a fine knowledge of art. They will give it the most beautiful appearance. As you know, Hazrat Khidr (as) is also an architect, a teacher, insha'Allah. He also has an excellent understanding of art. Imagine a picture of the world in the 2030s. You will be amazed at the speed. "When did these districts appear?" "When did this beauty appear?" and "How quickly this all happened," you will say.2012-10-31 13:36:58


text:
- SpecsConvert Specs to MetricTonnage661.386 TTypeHYDOverall Length16.4'Between Housings13.12'Stroke12.6"ControlCNC
- Product Overview
WF67K synchronous troque hydraulic press brakes (CNC economic)
Characteristics of the machines:
- Holistic welding structure, annealing treated
- Backgauge(x) and Strok(y) computerised control
- Backgauge auto position, limted in 0.1mm; Stop dog auto position, limitd in 0.01mm
- Single-track orientation, eliminate lead-screw driving gap
- Adopt quality ballscrew & linear guideway
- Inch, single, continous operations
- Safe fence & elec interlocker equipped, safety guaranteed
- Quick position, electric stroke adjustment, backgauge digital displayer
- Double cylinders control ram working, mechanical torsion synchronization
- High performance rotary encoder
- A set of standard tools & front support arms are provided
- About Company
ANHUI SANLI MACHINE TOOL MANUFACTURING CO.,LTD founded in Aug 1998. In past years, we are passionate about providing engineering excellence in everything we do, and we are dedicated to manufacturing world class, high-quality products for our global customers. SANLI is ISO9001: 2008 certified, and products meet the CE safety requirements and regulations. With a highly dedicated team, SANLI offer you an extensive machine tools specializing in cutting, punching, bending technologies and services. Our global sales network covers in Europe, Australia, North America, South east Asia, Mid-east, South Africa ect... SANLI mainly produces shears, press brakes, plate rolls, ironworkers, corner notchers, presses, blade and moulds dies with different specification plus complete sets of accessories used for motor vehicle industry, shipbuilding industry, railway, aviation, metallurgy, electric power, petrifaction, light industry, mine, decorate, construction, city planning for park. We use the latest control system to ensure highly efficient production, and the quality assurance team measures and tests each component to ensure precision standards of machined parts are met or surpassed. Finally, before delivery, each complete machine goes through intensive quality and performance tests to make absolute sure it meets our strict company quality standards before it arrives at the customer's operation. Total customer satisfaction is the core of our work. SANLI group is working toward to deliver customer Durability, Accuracy, Versatility products. We look forward to your continued support and comments -- together we will push quality at SANLI ever higher.


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Saturday, February 13, 2010
The Courting Dulcimer
With Valentine's Day around the corner, let's look at music's role in the courting game.
I mentioned George & Gerry Armstrong in a recent blog about music; they are the folks who introduced me to the courting dulcimer (George called it a "two-cimer," but I think that was his made-up name for it). The courting dulcimer was a way to allow a couple to get close . . . but not too close. And it also gave them a chance to share, show their talents, and gaze into each others eyes while their knees just slightly touched (oh, my!).
Here is a photo of Joe and Paula McHugh using a courting dulcimer:
Click that photo to go to their website where they display a number of Appalachian instruments and explain the use of music in previous generations.
Perhaps your Valentine's Day will not be spent with an instrument in your joint laps, but what a neat way to get to know your paramour . . . unless, of course, he or she had bad breath! If you are intrigued and want to purchase one for yourself (or a kit so you can make your own), click on the photos above of the instruments to go to sites on the Internet for just such a purpose.
Happy Valentine's Day (or, as a friend of mine calls it, "Single's Awareness Day").
2 comments:
Love this post. It is a great little instrument to play with!ReplyDelete
As a MUSIC LOVER, especially old time and bluegrass, I enjoyed this post about the old lap dulcimer. If I had just seen the instrument, I would have decided that it was tuned in two different ranges. Especially since one person would be playing left-handed (on the top one)the way it is strung. The second one is made for two right handed people to play, assuming they are sitting apposite each other as in the photograph.ReplyDelete
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Federal agency is still conducting hand searches of young children despite claiming they were eliminated last year
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Monday, July 11, 2011
TSA head John Pistole has been caught brazenly lying to the American people yet again, after the TSA openly violated its own policy on child pat downs in the case of a six-year-old boy traveling to Disneyland who became upset after being hand-searched by TSA screeners.
The TSA first announced that it had "eliminated pat downs for children under 12" in November last year.
"We've heard the concerns that have been expressed and agree that children under 12 should not receive that pat-down," Pistole said on NBC's "Today Show" almost eight months ago.
Despite this supposed change in policy, the TSA continued to flagrantly violate its own rules and conduct pat downs of young children, including Anna Drexel, of Bowling Green, Ky., who was subjected to a full grope down by a TSA agent in early April. The TSA also defended the actions of two of it's agents who were photographed conducting a full body pat down on an eight-month old baby at Kansas City International Airport in May, saying they were adhering to procedure.
Having already announced and then violated its own policy change on numerous occasions, the TSA then repeated the same ploy at the height of the pat down controversy in Texas, in an effort to derail momentum that was building behind a bill that would have outlawed invasive screening methods conducted throughout the state.
During a June 22 Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Pistole told lawmakers, "We have changed the policy to say that there'll be repeated efforts made to resolve that without a pat-down," adding that the policy would apply to under-12's.
However, within 24 hours this rule change was already being violated, after a six-year-old boy was hand-searched twice at Washington SeaTac airport. The boy was en-route to Disneyland with his family when he was pulled out of line for a pat down, with TSA agents justifying the search due to their concerns about his handheld video console, which had already passed through x-ray screening.
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"They just treated him like he's a terrorist- he's a six year old boy,' his father Alex Long told King5 News.
Immediately after the pat down, the boy started crying and told his mother Jenine Michaelis that he didn't want to go to Disneyland anymore. Michaelis was unsure how to react given that they had taught the child to be wary of strangers touching his body.
"We all talk to our kids about improper touching – somebody shouldn't touch you unless you want to be touched," Michaelis said.
"We didn't have any time to talk to him about what they were really doing."
TSA chief John Pistole has now publicly lied to the American people on two separate occasions just on this issue alone. The second instance occurred in front of elected Senators.
At the very least he should be immediately stripped of his job, but Pistole should also face felony charges for lying to lawmakers.
Major League Baseball player Roger Clemens is currently on trial for perjury, false statements and obstruction of Congress after he lied to lawmakers about using steroids. Clemens lied about using drugs, whereas Pistole, who should be held to a higher standard, lied about a federal policy that affects all Americans.
Pistole has clearly deceived the American people on at least two manifestly provable occasions. After telling lawmakers twice that child pat downs had been eliminated, the TSA is still carrying on the practice. Like Clemens, Pistole should be facing charges of perjury, false statements and obstruction of Congress.
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show.
This article was posted: Monday, July 11, 2011 at 4:38 am


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On the Shores of Lake Michigan
The west coast of Michigan is a magnificent stretch of sugar sand beaches and the largest collection of freshwater dunes in the world. Years ago, as college students, we drove out to these beaches late at night with our friends. We drank macro brew under the stars, while listening to the waves crashing on the shore.
Michigan's lakefront towns still welcome tourists from Chicago, and day-trippers from other parts of Michigan. They attract a steady stream of visitors to their beaches, state parks, bed-and-breakfasts and tiny vintage hotels. The local climate is friendly to fruit growers: 75 percent of the nation's tart cherries, over 250 million pounds, are grown here annually; and those same hardwood cherry trees also produce a flourishing furniture industry.
Dutch Calvinists were among the first to settle in the area during the 1840s. Their cultural, religious and business influences remain firmly rooted. Until last year, Sunday sales of alcohol were banned to varying degrees in many communities. On the surface at least, it seems an unlikely place for the brewing industry to gain a strong foothold. But it has, and in an impressive way.
Michigan has over 70 breweries, and almost a third of them make their home close to the shores of Lake Michigan. When you consider that most of the population is concentrated on the opposite side of the state, it's an amazing demographic.
Let's begin our journey just north of the Indiana state line in a city called Benton Harbor. Owner and brewmaster Steve Berthel of The Livery is betting on an economic turnaround. This downtrodden community has more available lakefront land than anywhere else on Michigan's west coast, so he just might be putting his chips on a winner.
In 2005 Steve renovated the Palace Livery, located in what's known today as the arts district. The "9-barrel Berthel" brewhouse was cobbled together at a cost of only $60,000. The fermenters are English grundys from Cameron and Tettington.
Steve, a woodworker, cyclist and music lover, did much of the restoration work himself. The bottom level has an L-shaped wooden bar and stools made from secondhand wood. If you look closely at the posts in the taproom, you'll see the cribbing marks courtesy of the horses in the original livery.
Part of The Livery's charm is being the only brewpub in Michigan with both a stage and a mezzanine. Upstairs you can see more of Steve's handiwork. It has a state-of-the-art sound system and regularly showcases national acts.
There are normally 12 house beers on tap, including a hand pull and two to four lagers. They're not just the usual suspects. The lineup spans the spectrum from pale ales to high-gravity ones. Steve uses generous amounts of Continental malt because he believes that his customers deserve to taste the rich flavors those malts impart.
Are Benton Harbor's worst days over? Only time will tell. But if they are, Steve Berthel's vision of making The Livery a destination for both beer geeks and locals will be one reason for the turnaround.
Holland in Bloom
Not far up the road, you'll find New Holland Brewing, where craft brewing is considered an artistic pursuit. Their logo speaks volumes: "Art in Fermented Form." They're genuine, and they're on a steady course, making good, reliable, balanced beer.
New Holland is the story of two childhood friends, Brett Vander Kamp and Jason Spaulding, who roomed together at Hope College. Several years later they teamed up to pursue a dream of brewing beer in the unlikeliest of places: Holland. It's located in Ottawa County, which until recently even banned the sale of beer and wine on Sunday. Most people contemplating a brewery would stop right there and look someplace else.
But young people have the gifts of optimism and determination, not to mention a different perspective. They reasoned that the area was starving for new business. Besides, a new bar hadn't opened in Holland for years. Yes, money was an obstacle, but Brett and Jason said, "This is America. Let's do it."
Lo and behold, they did. It turned out that as strait-laced as Holland was, starting up a brewery there was very easy. By June 1997, they were open for business, brewing beer in an old factory they'd converted to a brewhouse.
Fast forward several years. John Haggerty is head brewer now and busy expanding New Holland's offerings at two new locations. The brewery turns out four year-round beers, four seasonals, and a rotating series of six high-gravity beers. But the brewing fun really begins with the ten to 12 experimental beers, plus the ones they brew for special occasions like Holland's annual Tulip Time Festival.
New Holland was one of Michigan's first breweries to join both the barrel-aging and high-gravity brewing trends. Sitting in storage are more than 200 bourbon barrels filled with beer in various stages of fermentation. The plan is to develop a library of beers that customers can someday enjoy while comparing the same label across multiple vintages.
Several years ago, New Holland also added a two-barrel distillery to their operation. In addition to a line of artisanal spirits, they're applying a brewer's unique perspective to distilling. Imagine the possibilities—and the fun—of tasting a style of beer, then tasting that same beer distilled as a spirit.
Founding Breweries
A short trip inland brings us to Grand Rapids and another brewery started by another pair of Hope College graduates: Founders Brewing Co. Officially, it's the Canal Street Brewing Co., named after the area where the city's breweries clustered in the late nineteenth century. The original labels bore a picture of the men who founded those breweries. Locals started calling the beer "Founders."
The modern pair of founders, Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers, are Grand Rapids natives who decided to go into craft brewing after graduation. Brewing operations began in October 1997 in a refurbished brass-stamping factory.
At first, they brewed a fairly tame lineup of beer: an amber, a pale ale and a wheat. They were modestly successful but asked themselves, "Is that all there is?" Luckily, they decided it wasn't. "Making beers we want to drink" is now Founders' slogan and they haven't looked back.
In 2007 Mike and Dave opened a new facility close to the heart of downtown. They had the brewery and taproom custom-built to accommodate entertainment and the various events that showcase their beer—16 on tap in the tasting room. Check out the chalkboards—one for high gravity beers, and one for the not quite so adventuresome.
Founders enjoys an almost cult-like following around Michigan. People, including yours truly, have been known to get up early on a Saturday morning and drive hundreds of miles to the brewery to buy a case, or two, of a limited release. They concentrate on big and unusual beers, like the Kentucky Breakfast Stout, for example. Released once a year in March, it's bourbon barrel-aged for two years and weighs in at 10 percent ABV. Or, Devil Dancer, a triple India Pale Ale that packs a 13 percent ABV punch and is dry-hopped with ten different varieties for 26 days. Let's just call it dancing with the devil in heaven.
And now we get to the part where we have to say, "So many breweries, so little space available to write about them." We've showed you around a few of our favorites, but if you're visiting west Michigan, there are other establishments you should add to your beer traveler's itinerary too.
Paul Ruschmann
Paul Ruschmann is a writer, editor and researcher. Maryanne Nasiatka is a writer and photographer. They travel as much as their budget permits visiting many of the places where great beer is brewed and enjoyed.
Maryanne Nasiatka


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How much should you expect to spend as a bridesmaid?
In a recent guest post for RosePedalsVeganWeddings.com we discussed vegan friendly gifts for bridesmaids, and when to give them out. One thing we also wanted to discuss as well were the expenses incurred by bridesmaids, and if you have ever had the pleasure of being one you know it can get pretty expensive.
First time bridesmaid may find themselves short on cash and going over budget real quick, and we wanted to point that out in our guest post, but didn't want to overwhelm readers with an already lengthy post. We made sure to give some terrific tips and ideas for personalized bridesmaids gifts, which should relieve any stress from travel or planning that they may be having too. (more…)


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Restyled four-door coupe seats five.
Midsize Cars
Editor: New Car Test Drive
$30,610 Base Price MSRP
$31,430 As Tested MSRP
Model Lineup: "Volkswagen CC Sport 6sp ($30,610), with DSG ($29,615); R-Line ($30,460), w DSG ($31,560); Luxury ($31,420), Luxury Plus ($33,865), Luxury Limited ($34,665); VR6 4Motion ($40,390)"
Standard Engine: 2.0-liter turbocharged I4
Engine Options: 2.0-liter turbocharged I4; 3.6-liter V6
Standard Transmission: 6-speed manual
Transmission Options: 6-speed manual; 6-speed DSG; 6-speed automatic Tiptronic
Basic Warranty: "3 years/36,000 miles"
Assembled In: Germany
Model Tested MSRP: "Volkswagen CC Sport with Lighting Package ($30,610)"
Standard Equipment: "climate control, faux-leather upholstery, heated 12-way adjustable front seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel with multi-function controls, rear trunk pass-through slot, cruise control, full power accessories, Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity, premium audio system with 6-CD changer and iPod connector, bi-xenon adaptive headlamps, LED daytime running lamps, rain-sensing windshield wipers, auto-dimming rearview mirror, 17-inch alloy wheels"
Options As Tested: none
Standard Safety Equipment: "dual-stage frontal airbags, side-impact airbags in front, airbag curtains, tire pressure monitor, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, electronic stability control"
Optional Safety Equipment: 4Motion all-wheel drive; rearview cameraDestination Charge: $820
Built on the Passat platform, the Volkswagen CC is a cooler-looking alternative to its more traditional sedan sibling. Unfortunately, its chic styling takes its toll on practicality. The low roofline makes for greatly reduced rear headroom, and the cabin generally has a less spacious feel all around. Still, for those who don't mind the cozy dimensions, the Volkswagen CC is a sophisticated alternative in a sea of vanilla midsize sedans.
The 2013 Volkswagen CC gets revised front and rear styling, along with a usable rear center seat, which allows the CC to seat five, unlike pre-2013 CC models, which only had room for four. Volkswagen says the old seating arrangement was a top reason many shoppers failed to purchase the CC.
The 2013 Volkswagen CC lineup includes two new trim levels: a 2.0T Sport Plus with 18-inch wheels and navigation and a VR6 Lux model that comes with leather upholstery, navigation with 6.5-inch touchscreen, rearview camera, heated headlight washer system, and memory function for seating and mirrors.
As with most Volkswagens, the CC interior design is stylish, yet simple, with high-quality materials. The cabin feels racy due to the steeply raked windshield and distant dash. It's cozy inside and there isn't as much front legroom as in the Acura TSX, Nissan Maxima or Lexus IS. The rear bucket seats accommodate just two in cozy comfort with decent legroom but limited headroom. Cargo space is small for the class, comparable to that of the Lexus IS.
The Volkswagen CC comes standard with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 200 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque. On our test drives, we found it powerful and smooth. It uses front-wheel drive and is available with a choice of 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic Direct Shift Gearbox.
Volkswagen CC VR6 models use a 3.6-liter V6 rated at 280 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of torque, mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. An all-wheel drive version of the VR6 is available, but is pricey.
Volkswagen CC comes standard with front-wheel drive, and 4Motion all-wheel drive is available for slippery conditions.
The 2013 Volkswagen CC walks the line between affordable family sedan and entry-level luxury car. It's a more upscale alternative to traditional four-doors such as the Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata and Volkswagen Passat, yet in the higher trim levels can also go head-to-head with prestige vehicles such as the Audi A4 and Acura TL and Infiniti G Sedan."
"The 2013 Volkswagen CC comes in five trim levels. Like other Volkswagen models, trim names correspond in part with engine choice: either a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder or a 3.6-liter V6.
The Volkswagen CC 2.0T Sport with Lighting Package ($30,610) includes climate control, faux-leather upholstery, heated 12-way adjustable front seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel with multi-function controls, rear trunk pass-through slot, cruise control, Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity and an eight-speaker sound system with touch screen, HD radio, six-disc CD changer and iPod interface, full power accessories, auto-dimming rearview mirror, bi-xenon adaptive headlamps, LED daytime running lamps and tail lamps, rain-sensing windshield wipers, 17-inch alloy wheels with all- season self-sealing tires. A 6-speed manual comes standard, with a 6-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission optional ($1,100).
Volkswagen CC 2.0T Sport Plus ($32,850) comes with navigation, 18-inch alloy wheels, and the DSG dual-clutch transmission.
Volkswagen CC 2.0T Lux ($35,355) and you'll get everything on the Sport Plus model plus different 18-inch wheels, a power sunroof, dark brushed-aluminum interior trim and ambient lighting.
Volkswagen CC 2.0T R Line features unique 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, lower extended sport bumpers, R-Line door sill plates and darkened taillights. The 6-speed manual and dual-clutch DSG automatic transmissions are available. The R Line goes on sale early in 2013.
Volkswagen CC VR6 Lux ($37,730) is front-wheel drive and uses a 280-hp, 3.6-liter VR6 engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. VR6 Lux includes everything on the 2.0T Lux plus different 18-inch wheels, rearview camera, heated headlight washer system, leather upholstery, memory function for seating and mirrors and navigation with 6.5-inch touchscreen.
Volkswagen CC VR6 4Motion Executive ($41,420) adds all-wheel drive and includes everything found on the VR6 Lux plus Park Distance Control with front and rear proximity sensors, power rear sunshade paddle shifters, ventilated front seats, driver's seat with massage function, and an upgraded Dynaudio Premium Sound System.
Safety equipment includes six airbags (frontal, side front and full curtain), advanced stability control with ABS, tire pressure monitoring system. 4Motion can enhance safety in adverse conditions. The optional rearview camera can help the driver spot a child behind the vehicle when backing up."
Walk Around
"The refreshed exterior for 2013 incorporates stronger Volkswagen styling cues, yet the Volkswagen CC still looks like an expensive European luxury car. The new front bumper, headlights, and radiator grille use cleaner lines and geometric shapes. As with the Passat, the CC also has an extra air intake beneath the bumper with foglights housed inside.
New headlights are bi-xenon and use integrated LED Daytime Running Lights. Also standard is the Adaptive Front-lighting System (AFS), which turns the headlamps for visibility around corners.
The 2013 Volkswagen CC's rear bumper has increased in volume. New tail lamps and license plate lighting use LED bulbs.
From the side, the CC's C-pillar is wide but barely visible because it flows back, not down. Although it shares its underpinnings with the Passat, the CC is shorter, wider and lower. And the CC's roofline is sleek and swept back as if the car were racing into a 200-mph wind."
"From the driver's seat, the cabin of the 2013 Volkswagen CC feels like a luxury sports car. The windshield is steeply raked, the doorsill is high and the seat is seat low. Visibility out front is good. It's not bad out the rear either, although the tall headrests don't help. Blind spots from the wide C-pillars are reduced by fixed triangular rear door windows behind the passengers' ears, which are close to the steeply sloping roofline.
The instrument panel feels far away, because it's not very vertical. The multitude of gauges look clean and are easy to read, and the layout of the center stack is not nearly as complicated as other German carmakers like to make it. The analog clock carries over for 2013.
According to Volkswagen, one of the biggest reasons shoppers avoided purchasing the CC was because it could only accommodate two passengers in back. For 2013, the rear middle location has been made into a cushion, which now allows the CC to seat five instead of four. That said, the slightly higher cushion, combined with the steeply raked roofline, means only children and petite, svelte adults make for a good fifth passenger. On the plus side, there's a decent but not sumptuous 37.3 inches of rear legroom.
The leatherette upholstery is soft and supple, and could almost pass for real leather. On cars equipped with two-toned leather interior, the execution is sporty, yet tasteful.
The trunk is on the smaller end of the class but usable. The CC offers 13.2 cubic feet of cargo space, slightly better than the Lexus IS but less than that offered by the Acura TSX (14 cubic feet) or Nissan Maxima (14.2). Behind the armrest is a pass-through hatch to the trunk for skis and such."
Driving Impressions
"The turbocharged 2.0-liter engine shoots the car forward impressively, and the Volkswagen CC is as quick, smooth and satisfying as just about any V6 in any sedan: The Volkswagen CC can accelerate 0-60 mph in 7.4 seconds. It's nearly as quick with the 2.0-liter as the VR6, only 0.1 second slower in the quarter-mile.
The 2.0-liter turbo is rated at 200 hp at 5100 rpm and 207 pound-feet of torque at 1700 rpm. The engine features variable valve timing and direct injection, in addition to the turbocharger and intercooler.
Fuel economy for the 2.0-liter engine is EPA-rated at 21/31 City/Highway, which is what we got with more than 50 percent highway driving, including some rapid two-lane transit. Premium fuel is recommended.
We found the highway ride smooth and solid, firm but not harsh. It isn't a high-performance car, but it's lighter than the Maxima or Lexus IS. The electromechanical steering was easy and comfortable, but wasn't particularly engaging.
One of our biggest complaints was the shifter, which, like other VW models, felt sloppy and slipped into gear a little too lazily. We'd prefer the gates to feel a little more precise, especially on a model called Sport.
Driving the Volkswagen CC around town, up hills, passing on two-lanes, it doesn't feel like a four-cylinder engine. At 90 mph it's not straining one bit; totally smooth, amazingly smooth for a 2-liter four-cylinder.
The suspension can't earn grades like the engine, however, especially not when it's asked to perform at its sport-tuned description. The overall handling is not particularly crisp, but the turn-in is sharp enough. If all you ask for is a solid and smooth highway ride on a firm suspension that doesn't rock or wallow, no worries. The electromechanical power steering makes maneuvering in parking lots easy."
"The Volkswagen CC is a unique car that succeeds. A five-seat, four-door, it feels and looks like a luxury coupe but with a base price around $30,000. The interior materials in the Volkswagen CC are very high quality, especially the leather seats, even in a more expensive car. The overachieving turbocharged 2.0 engine holds its own with the big boys, along with the DSG transmission; it's smooth and strong enough that the expensive VR6 isn't needed. Needing the winter capability of 4Motion all-wheel drive is the best justification for the VR6. The brakes are excellent, the ride firm but smooth.
NewCarTestDrive correspondents Laura Burstein and Sam Moses contributed to this report."
Top Cars


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What does a $9.99 bottle of screw-top wine have to do with a prefab house? Vetter Denk made the connections in an innovative getaway for an enterprising vintner.
Ask Roger Scommegna about the inspiration for the Aperture House, the eye-catching weekend retreat that he built on the sloping, grassy banks of Moose Lake, Wisconsin, and he cites an improbable source. The idea, he explains with a straight face, came from a squat, screw-top jug of inexpensive red wine.
In 2001, Scommegna cashed in his earnings from Realtor.com, an online compendium of real estate listings that he helped launch during the dot-com boom, and invested in a pair of vineyards in Mendocino County, California. A year later, Scommegna's fledgling Signal Ridge Vineyard scored an unlikely hit with Three Thieves, a screw-top zinfandel with a bright red label and a retail price of $9.99.
The surprising success of Three Thieves gave the 42-year-old Scommegna an idea. If a good wine could be mass-marketed in an unassuming package at an affordable price, he reasoned, perhaps the same could be done with architecture. A narrow, 50-foot-wide lot that Scommegna purchased at Moose Lake, about 25 miles west of Milwaukee, would serve as the proving ground.
Scommegna pitched the idea to Vetter Denk Architects, the forward-thinking Milwaukee firm he had hired in 1995 to design his primary residence in Brookfield, an upscale Milwaukee suburb. "I said, 'I want to build a home like this wine,'" Scommegna recounts.
"'Simple packaging, and nothing fancy, because this is a screw-top jug. But I want good design, and I want it to be a surprise when someone opens up the wine or comes in the house.' I just kind of wanted it to be quiet on the outside, big surprise on the inside. And then I left them with this bottle of wine."
With Three Thieves, Scommegna set out to debunk the conventional wisdom that wine can only be good if it's corked in an expensive bottle. The challenge that architects John Vetter and Kelly Denk set for themselves was to prove that a house could be quickly constructed from prefabricated parts and still be tasteful and architecturally daring.
Ten days later, Scommegna returned to Vetter Denk's downtown Milwaukee office and was shown a cardboard model that, he says, "looked like three shoeboxes stacked on top of each other. As always," he continues, "I needed to process it for a minute."
It didn't take long for the architects to sell Scommegna on the idea. Vetter and Denk planned the house along a regimented, four-by-four-foot grid that helped keep construction simple while allowing for limitless variations that could be adapted to any site.
They hired a local carpenter to create the 8-by-20-foot exterior wall panels from prefinished cedar plywood. The exterior panels, flooring components, and Parallam support beams (not unlike a plywood I beam) were all manufactured offsite and hauled to Moose Lake on flatbed trucks in March 2002. The building's shell was assembled in less than 48 hours.
"The concept was to use prefabricated technology that for the most part has been used only to achieve low cost," Vetter says. "Prefab has a negative connotation, a stigma. This is an opportunity to shift the paradigm and use the same technology to do these nice little pieces of architecture. That's what the Aperture House is all about."
The filmic designation of "Aperture House" came from the patio doors framing panoramic views of the lake. Vetter, Denk, and Scommegna worked hard to keep the house free of clutter and not to interfere with those views.
Bathrooms were relegated to the basement and upstairs. There is a full-size refrigerator, but it's hidden in the basement utility room. A mini-fridge and matching freezer sit unobtrusively beneath a kitchen counter, and food and drinks are carried up from the basement as they are needed. "The whole concept was to be able to walk in the front door and see through the entire house to the lake," Scommegna says.
Because the Aperture House was conceived, in part, as a dry run for a national effort to bring affordable, high-end architecture to the mass market, Vetter and Denk had to find innovative ways to keep costs down without sacrificing taste.
The interior walls, doors, and cabinets, for example, were made from finished medium-density fiberboard, a material that typically is hidden beneath drywall. Instead of having large, floor-to-ceiling windows custom-made at great expense, the architects framed the views of Moose Lake in conventional sliding patio doors.
Similarly, the floors were done in utilitarian concrete, covered here and there with shag rugs. Using a process called "integral color," the concrete company added colored powder to the mix, infusing it with a sandy tint that complements the house's earthy decor.
Scommegna says that, too, was part of the concept. "I'm hoping that when you are sitting here you get the feeling of simple, that you don't get the feeling of fussy," says Scommegna, who spends most weekends at the Aperture House with his wife, Pamela, 42, and daughters Nicole, 17, and Krissy, 14. "We don't want to be fussy here. We want the kids to walk in with their Aqua Socks, drip water on the floor, and sit right at the picnic table here, and I sincerely mean that. It's literally designed not to be fussy."
Last May, the Aperture House earned Vetter Denk an honor award from the Wisconsin chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Since then, the firm has forged a partnership with a leading manufacturer of modular homes, and they are in the early stages of an ambitious plan to bring the Aperture House concept
to the suburban mass market.
The Aperture House itself, which cost more than $300,000 to design and build, is more "tweaked out" than its progeny is likely to be, Vetter says. The idea is to get the list price near $199,900. Scommegna calls that price the "sweet spot," a term he also uses for the $9.99 price tag of his wine.
"We still have to fit in people's heads," Scommegna says. "I don't think this home fits in people's heads for mass production. But the concept is there and our partner is going to be there, and the design will be there."
Vetter is confident that the concept will translate easily to suburbia. "It's a little house," he says. "It does everything you need it to do. It does it humbly, with nature, and it's fun. You don't need anything else. It's perfect."


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Evolution recently moved to a sqlite summary db rather than a custom summary db implementation. Its great to see such reuse of code.
However, it's not really a complete transition yet as I've had cause to find out today. I've blogged before about performance with the sqlite summary sqlite database. Today I was greet with a crash-on-startup bug which happily has a patch upstream already. Before I looked in the bug tracker though, I did some house cleaning.
I started with a 900MB folders.db. Doing a vacuum on the db dropped that to 300MB. It doesn't appear to be something that evolution does itself. Firefox too appears to lack an automatic vacuum. sqlite is an embedded database, and its wonderful at doing that, but its not as install-and-forget as (say) PostgreSQL which does autovacuum. So an additional tip is vacuum your folders, e.g. with http://www.gnome.org/~sragavan/evolution-rebuild-summarydb, a helper script that will run vacuum on all your account summary db's. Note that it *does not rebuild*, it solely vacuums, and as such does not add or delete (modulo bugs in sqlite) data to the summary database.
After the housecleaning, I checked that the sqlite database was in good condition:
sqlite3 folders.db pragma integrity_check;
This returned a number of indexing issues, so I reindexed:
Evolution now starts up and crashes in a fraction of a second – a big improvement. Finally, I started looking at the evolution code as I now was fairly confident it was a bug – it was in a sqlite callback function – and the column the function extracts data from (flags) is missing a NOT NULL constraint, but the code doesn't check for NULL – boom. From there to finding the bug report and existing patch was trivial.
And this is where my comment on reliability turns up: Evolution doesn't anticipate NULL flag values in its code, so why does it insert them into the database at all ? I suspect its due to some aspect of the incremental conversion to using sqlite summaries. More concerning for me is the possibility that there are many other such crash bugs lurking in the new sqlite based code.
There are possibly some clues as to the excessive table scans done by evolution in the use of a flags bitset rather than separate columns, but I haven't looked close enough to really say.


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Tagged: Quality Starts
The Strange Case of Ervin Santana
(Cross posted with edits from L.A. Angels Insider. I don't do a lot of cross posting, but this one fit the bill for both blogs.)
It all started with an absolute dearth of run support — because if what the rest of the Angels' starting rotation experienced early in the 2012 season was a lack of run support, then clearly we must resort to stronger vocabulary when describing the strange case of Ervin Santana. In his first six starts of 2012, the team scored exactly three runs for Santana and all three of those came during his rocky first start against the Royals. The end result was an 0 and 6 record that belied his steady improvement over that time period which culminated in two quality starts, including the final game of that stretch wherein he struck out 10.
Unfortunately for Santana and our impressions of his season, his quality starts only overlapped with the Angels improving offense for two wins in May before his control slipped again. Then Santana began having entirely different issue with runs, namely with giving them up, frequently in the form of early inning bombs launched solidly into the stands. After a dismal performance in Colorado that can only partially be blamed on the stadium's notorious altitude, fans had all but forgotten any quality starts.
But just as more and more fans were calling for a change, 'Hey, that Garrett Richards kid looks pretty good. Once Jered Weaver comes off the DL, couldn't we…' Santana threw everyone a curve, pitching a one-hit shutout against the D-Backs that for six and two-thirds glorious innings was perfect in every sense of the word. Okay, so what do you do with a conundrum like that? It's the strange case of Ervin Santana, indeed.
We all know the Angels' most likely answer. Sometime this week, perhaps even as I post these thoughts, Jered Weaver will come off of the DL and Garrett Richards will head back to AAA. The Angels typically back the veteran, but in this case I don't think fans should take issue with the decision. Yes, the four games leading up to Saturday's gem were ugly, but Saturday didn't happen in a vacuum. Lost amid the Angels' April and early May offensive woes were enough strong starts to indicate that Santana's latest flirtation with control issues, however hot and heavy it may have seemed, is just the same old on again, off again fling he's had his entire career and not an all encompassing, season long relationship.
Looking at Santana's record for the last four seasons, he heats up with the weather, giving the Angels strong Julys and Augusts, even during seasons where he's struggled. I'm not saying that every start is going to be sunshine and rainbows from here on out but, given the near perfection we just witnessed, I think the Angels would be foolish not to at least see what late June and July have in store. If this weekend turns out to be an aberration and Santana's control reverts to Colorado-like performances, it's not like they can't bring Richards (who pitched his own weekend gem) back up again.
Besides, we Angels fans know how our team has a tendency to torture…er…thrill…um, er…thrillingly torture?…us with more excitement in the eighth and ninth innings than is strictly necessary even at the best of times. Smart fans stocked up on plenty of antacid back in March. You know, just in case…